


Multitude

by photogiraffe77



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Daddy Kink, Explicit Sex, M/M, Past Abuse, Prostitute!levi, Smut, This Was Supposed To Be A One Shot, lawyer!Erwin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:01:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25599244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/photogiraffe77/pseuds/photogiraffe77
Summary: ‘What are you doing, Smith?’he asked himself, thumbing through the documents occupying the manilla folder. He had no idea, in all actuality. Bringing a boy home who he only knew from a handful of observations and even fewer encounters at some bar was extremely outside the norm. He was usually so much more careful than this, meticulous, a planner. Every movement had a calculated measure behind it, thoughtfully mulled over, and weighed accordingly.But in this instance, Erwin wasn’t sure. It was like jumping headfirst into dark, black waters. How far was the bottom? Would he drown from his own misgivings, or even worse, in his own expectations?Though if he really thought about it, he had actually been drowning this whole time, the last ten years, wallowing in suffocating loneliness and the misguided ideology that he didn’t deserve happiness. And perhaps the life raft that had come to save him appeared in the form of a raven-haired boy, as battered and bruised as he was, but still, a vessel meant to carry him to shore.
Relationships: Levi/Erwin Smith
Comments: 59
Kudos: 279
Collections: Amazing EruRi Fics





	1. Observation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be a one-shot but I got too excited and now it's a two shot? Because the more the better, right?
> 
> Writing is the only thing giving my borderline alcoholism any credibility. See you at the bottom.

It was early October the first time Erwin saw him, all dark hair and pale, almost translucent skin, nursing a stiff drink like it was a lifeline. Erwin remembered that day vividly, and least of all because he laid eyes on the boy that would grow to be the primary object of his attention. 

He had lost a case that day - a big one he had been working on for months. All of his attorney friends marveled at his character. Apparently, it took a lot of patience and virtue and tenacity to be a district attorney in a city crawling with the most rancid of scum. That’s what they all told him, at least. But a little over ten years into his career and there he still was, prosecuting and doing his best to find justice. 

A rapist walked that day, in Erwin’s professional opinion. A jury had been swayed by good looks and sleight of hand, the testimony of a tearful victim on the verge of a mental breakdown and near-solid DNA evidence apparently did nothing. Money bought it all in this world, even an innocent verdict.

It was that day that Erwin had watched the boy for far too long while he himself sucked down one whiskey after another - until his hands numbed and his vision swayed and his inhibitions went also. He watched the solid set of his jaw, clenched tight like the tension in his shoulders that rippled underneath the thin black t-shirt, attire that was much too minimal compared to the rainy, wet October evening outside. He fiddled, flinched, moved his hands nervously, but never spoke. Eventually, the boy ordered his last drink, sat it down carefully when finished, and then left without so much as a coat to his slender frame.

It could have been an hour, or two, or three by the time Erwin watched the boy leave, paying his own tab in turn and finally abandoning the rickety pub table he had spent too long occupying in the back of the seedy bar. He called a cab and went back to his home, where he met another glass of scotch and the hollow loneliness of Egyptian cotton sheets.

The second time Erwin’s blue eyes caught his sight was several weeks after the first. He lied to himself when he said it wasn’t intentional, that he wasn’t seeking out the raven-haired beauty by simply coming back to the place he had first seen him. No, Erwin had never stepped foot in that bar before a few weeks ago, but he was quickly becoming a regular, the far table like a second home. He had never considered himself an alcoholic, or a stalker, for that matter, but perhaps it was time he quit lying or making excuses. 

Erwin watched him even closer this time, intent on learning more about him, not near as drunk as he had been before. No, only one top shelf Balevine today, sipped warm and neat from a crystal clear high ball glass; something to simply occupy his hands.

The boy was actually dressed for the chilly weather outside this time, jet black denim jeans, worn like a second skin to beautiful legs that didn’t look very long, but still absolutely enticing. On top, he wore an oversized dark gray sweater, low scoop neck giving way to a peek at porcelain expanses of skin waiting underneath, milk-white and so very tempting. In his graceful, petite hand he held the fat end of a beer bottle, taking ginger sips, eyes downturned to the glossy counter.

He was alone - he had been last time, too. Other than the occasional dismissive shake of his head or flick of his wrist to the bartender, he made no move to look around or hold a conversation. He never once pulled out an electronic device, as if to check for a confirmation text or scroll through social media. No, instead, he stayed fixated on his drink, peeling at the label until it laid in shreds on the countertop, a mosaic of ripped reds and blues. He sat silently until he eventually left, the three empty, mutilated bottles the only physical indication that he had ever actually ever been there.

The third time, he did this, too. It was a pattern, a routine, almost like a ritual. 

He came to the bar, drank several longnecks of varying drafts - it was never the same one twice, almost as if he were experimenting, trying to find one he liked. He wouldn’t utter a word, just sat in his own silence and contemplation; his own little world. Then, after several hours of quiet, he would set money on the bar and leave, vanish with a flourish of his coat and dissipate like smoke; he could not long be seen, but his scent burned Erwin’s throat like fire.

The fourth time, Erwin finally got the courage to speak to him. It was a Friday - another long week at the office. Most of his colleagues were preparing for the mass of chaos in their lives that occupied the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, heading home to wives and husbands and families, or off to the mall for holiday shopping and festivities preparation. 

But Erwin didn’t have the things his colleagues had. Rather, the _people_ they had. Mike had Nana; they were his very best friends and he loved them dearly, like a family he got to choose. But they were their own family, together, and Erwin felt like an intruder, especially on such important holidays. His parents were long gone and so was his bride; a beautiful blonde woman stolen from him in the very infancy of their marriage at the hands of both fate and a drunk driver. He persecuted impaired driving the hardest. And while he hated what alcohol did, he couldn’t seem to find it in himself to quit consuming it.

Erwin approached the younger man as one might advance on an injured baby deer; carefully and with much thought, his movements made without malicious intent, wielding no expectations of any kind. He was simply spurred on by his desire to engage the boy, this object of his fascination; the very first person to capture him in such a long time.

“May I buy you another one?” he asked, gesturing toward the empty glass bottle, stripped bare of its label.

Erwin was not prepared for the obsidian dark eyes and the sheer lifelessness they contained when his gaze was met. It struck him, sucking his breath from his lungs and sending a shiver masquerading down his spine; a sensation that had absolutely nothing to do with the temperature outside.

“Nah,” came the tired voice, unexpectedly deep for such a small frame. The man’s petite hands squeezed the glass on his drink so hard, his knuckles turned a pattern of red and white. 

“May I sit here, at least?” the lawyer inquired, pointing to the empty barstool beside him.

The young man only nodded his head slightly but returned his gaze to stare unseeing at the rows of liquor that lined the back wall. His beauty was all the more astounding up close, from the tight undercut of his dark, silky hair to his angular cheekbones, just slightly reddened from the alcohol in his bloodstream, down to the long column of his neck, so vulnerable and captivating, as it disappeared beneath his shirt collar.

“Are you alright?” Erwin asked, thick blond brows furrowing slightly as he lowered himself in the seat. The boy was dressed in the same outfit from a few weeks ago - dual-tone, monochromatic, and especially drab. The ashen sweater was quite obviously two sizes too big up close, the sharp canyons of his collarbone sticking out - Erwin did his best not to stare.

But then again, that’s how he landed in this predicament in the first place - the inability to keep his eyes to himself.

“Do I not look alright?” The way he answered a question with a question was unsurprising, given his body language. Erwin was used to that kind of volley of words - he was an attorney, after all. Words and conversations were the cornerstones of his job, the very essence of his work. He could counter this boy, surely.

“You look more than alright.” It was a poor attempt to flirt, such a short sentence so casually stated. Erwin knew that, but it didn’t keep him from regretting the words, because they seemed to catch the boy’s attention. 

“Hmm,” he hummed as he ran his thumb around the ring of glass at the top of his empty bottle, porcelain skin absorbing the last of the drops of liquid remaining. “Do I?”

Erwin didn’t delay or fidget. “Yes.”

The boy’s head lulled to the side as he propped it up on an open hand, elbow grounding into the dark oak countertop. “Do you mind paying for it?” He ran a wet tongue over his thin, pink lips. His voice had no teasing lilt when he spoke, no kind of inclination that he was joking or that his proposition was made in jest. 

“Pardon?” Erwin asked, leaning back in his seat, ocean blue eyes scanning the angular face before him.

The boy stood at that, rising to his feet. At full-height and dressed in chunky combat boots, he was barely taller than Erwin, even while the blond lawyer was seated. “Have a good night, sir.” As he pulled his black coat on, the open neck of his sweater shifted just enough to reveal the dark bruises that blotted his shoulder beneath the cashmere fabric.

It happened so fast, Erwin didn’t believe he really saw it, but it was all he could think about as the boy nearly vanished in thin air, parading out the door and into the night.

The fifth time was an anomaly, truly, even more so than the fourth. Snow was falling from the sky, the calendar inching even closer to Christmas Day. Erwin was in his usual perch from the corner when he observed an older brunette gentleman sit down beside the raven-haired boy. Oh, how Erwin wished he had caught his name that day. The lawyer had made plans to speak with him properly the next time they met. He had watched the boy walk in and have a seat in his own usual haunt, but before he could approach him, another man stole the adjacent chair.

The brunette was considerably older than the boy, his dark beard kept neat with his salt-and-pepper hair pushed away from his face. He kept a hand on the small of the boy’s back, leaning closer to whisper things that were clearly for his own amusement because the object of Erwin’s affection remained unfazed. He seemed to say very little, just nodding or grunting enough to acknowledge the other’s presence, but otherwise, remained occupied in his normal disinterested state of being. 

Erwin watched, as always, formidable hands folded around his scotch, clutching it like a cross. Who is this new addition, he wondered? Does he _pay for it_ , like the boy had hinted at last time? The lawyer had spent many an hour, especially late at night in his empty house, haunted by that question. The boy at the bar gave such short answers and spoke so few words, but still, they lingered and burned in his brain, as if they were a mantra meant to be memorized. 

Minutes passed and the bony fingers of the man slid lower, occupying the waistline of those skin-tight jeans, slipping into belt loops and pulling; teasingly? Threateningly? Flirtatiously? Erwin wasn’t sure, so he didn’t stand up, only watched closer as the boy remained unmoved, hands stilled and free from fidgets - he had not even peeled the label of his beer, not this time.

That was his first sign that something was going wrong, and the boy was possibly in danger. The lingering beckoning of alcohol, paired with his strong moral compass, summoned Erwin’s bout of courage, slight inebriation powering the movement in his legs as he trekked across the short span to the bar where he leaned heavily on the counter, large body filling the uninhabited space between two empty stools. As he ordered a third scotch, he watched keenly out the corner of his eye.

“Baby, aren’t you tired?” The man’s voice was gravel, hinting he had chain-smoked all of his life, low and rough-sounding. His advanced age was all the more prevalent up close, the crows’ feet lining his amber eyes a dead giveaway. The way he asked the question curdled Erwin’s stomach, souring it to the point that he couldn’t feel joy about the newly refilled glass in front of him.

“I’am,” the boy slurred, though if it was from exhaustion, intoxication, or something else entirely, Erwin wasn’t certain. The smaller man was hard to hear with his whisper-quiet words against the harsh backdrop of conversation and steady classic rock music that swarmed the low-lit venue. 

“Then let’s leave.” Erwin didn’t miss the demanding tug on the boy’s arm as the man spoke his command; it left no room for interpretation or negotiation. It was straight-forward, dominating in nature.

“S’ innit for me?” His tongue sounded thick, too heavy in his mouth when he spoke. 

“Levi, you’re not getting paid tonight,” the man cooed, leaning in closer, his lips ghosting the flesh between the boy’s undercut and his ear. “This one is just for fun.”

Erwin didn’t think before he spoke. “Are you alright?” He did not bring his cerulean gaze to the older man. Instead, he kept his attention rapt on the boy, Levi, if that was really his name, addressing him as if he were the only one present.

In Erwin’s mind, he was: he didn’t acknowledge trash.

Two slate orbs met his gaze; glassy, nearly completely void, more reminiscent of black holes than human eyes. 

“You have no business with my boy,” the man all but growled, attempting to keep his voice low to avoid drawing further attention.

“Are you alright?” This time, when Erwin spoke the question, he set a steadying hand on Levi’s slender shoulder, blatantly ignoring the other man. Erwin had to touch him - it was a selfish desire, he knew, one fueled by his need to ensure that Levi was coherent and awake and able to respond. The burning skin beneath his touch frightened him, but he did not pull his hand away.

“S’fine,” Levi stated, his eyes half-lidded, drawing nearer to closing as he swayed dizzily on his stool. His mouth was a thin line, pursed tightly, his jaw set in a firm clench. 

Erwin was not convinced. “Pardon the intrusion,” he spoke calmly, conjuring his best courtroom voice, “but I am an attorney, and it is my professional opinion that this man is not sober enough to consent.”

This comment caused the older man to bristle, prompting him to stand up a little straighter and slowly move his hands away from the smaller man’s waist, dragging them to occupy his pockets instead. “I was just gonna call him a cab,” he insisted, his voice feigning innocence. 

“I will let the bartender do that for him,” Erwin spoke assertively, carefully positioning himself behind Levi’s back, using his statuesque size to seal away any misgivings about who was in control there. “He appears to be drugged.”

The older man scoffed, taking a step back in the place that Erwin had stepped forward, equalizing their distance once more. “Whatever,” he said, clearly annoyed as he dismissively waved his hand. “Not fucking worth it.” With those final words, he turned on his heel and disappeared behind the tall, wooden partitioner, surely making his way toward the exit.

Erwin returned his attention to the young man who rested his temple against his forearm, dozing softly. “Levi, is that your name?” he asked quietly, lowering himself on the stool beside him, dragging it so that he could sit closer.

“Hmm?” the boy stirred, opening a single eye. 

“Is Levi your name?” he repeated the question a little more firmly.

“Mmm,” he hummed in acknowledgment before closing the eye once more.

“Can we get him a glass of water please, miss?” the blonde attorney asked, giving a small wave to the bartender. She obliged, filling a glass with ice and cold water before sliding it to Erwin.

“Can you drink this?” he asked, hope in his voice, gingerly touching the clammy nape of the slender man’s neck in an attempt to rile him once more. When he did nothing to respond, Erwin directed his questions to the bartender again. “Were you going to let him get dragged out of here like this?” It was his lawyer voice again, only this time, it sounded angrier - appalled, even. 

The young woman shrugged. “He’s a prostitute. He’s here for what he’s here for.” She stated it so nonchalantly as if she were simply discussing the weather.

“A prostitute?” Golden eyebrows shot up high on his forehead; that revelation caught him off guard.

“Mmm,” she murmured as she dried off a wine glass. “And he’s probably gonna be pissed when he wakes up to find himself broke.”

“You allow him to solicit himself out of your bar?” The lawyer did absolutely nothing to mask the disgust housed in his question.

“‘Course not,” she said, shaking her head. “He just comes in here every now and then to kill time between customers. You should know that by now,” she popped the gum she had been chewing noisily, “you spend enough time watching him.”

“That man came in here.”

“I also distinctly remember hearing that man say he wasn’t paying for anything.” She began her ascent down the bar, headed to greet a new customer. “So it’s really not my business,” was the last thing she added prior to resuming her work.

Levi sat up then, slowly, his pace like a crawl. Erwin laid a steadying hand on his back, square between his shoulder blades, an attempt to keep him from falling off backward. It was an act that held no ulterior motive nor malice intent. He groaned a little; Erwin took it as a good sign of life.

“Levi, are you alright?” That was the third time in their minimal exchanges that he had asked the dark-haired man that. And it was the third time he didn’t receive an actual reply.

Levi held out his left arm, using the right to turn him around the in the stool. His face was quite pallid, strikingly obvious even against such already pale skin. The long, dark lashes that outlined his even darker eyes caused Erwin’s heart to perform a somersault once, and then once again. The boy was breathtaking in every sense of the word. 

“‘Ou paying?” His question was earnest, though slurred, almost nervous as it tumbled out of him, his foggy gaze wavering as he used a hand to brace himself - that hand fell into a balled fist, clenching the front of Erwin’s shirt tightly, wrinkling the designer fabric of his suit.

“I’ll pay for your cab,” he whispered delicately, moving his own grip to hold his shoulders, guiding him out of his seat and into a standing position. “Here, put on your coat,” he suggested, grabbing the thin black jacket he had been sitting on and pulling it tightly around him.

The boy swayed a little before leaning heavily on Erwin who was already fishing his phone from his own back pocket. He dialed a number quickly, hailing a cab to their address. Levi remained there, motionless, cheek pushed warmly into Erwin’s gray suit jacket. 

He let him stay like that for a few minutes, unwilling to disturb his rest, no matter how self-indulgent it may have been. It had been a long time since he personally got to protect someone like this, to be a literal pillar of strength; he absorbed it for all that it was worth. 

Finally, but still all too soon, his phone pinged, alerting him that the cab had arrived. Erwin ignored any side-eyes or strange looks the duo received as they made their way out of the bar, wrapping a solid arm under the boy’s shoulder, half-carrying him out the front door to the yellow car that waited just out front. Snow was falling peacefully, lightly, accumulating in the streets and on the curb.

“Where to?” the cabbie asked as Erwin lowered Levi inside, tucking his short limbs just inside the door.

“Levi, where do you live?” the lawyer asked. The boy mumbled an address; Erwin imprinted it to memory before handing a wad of cash over to the driver. “Is this enough to get him there?” Wide-eyed, the cabbie only nodded in agreement.

Erwin closed the door gently, listening to it click as it shut. He stayed there, his own coat abandoned inside, shivering as he watched the red of the taillights disappear and fade into the wintry night.

\------------------

Erwin was still in the office on Christmas Eve because he had work to do. That’s what he told himself, at least - his work was very important and justice stopped for no one. Usually, his workdays were interrupted by court dates and phone calls and meetings with the press and various other attorneys, the litany of legality neverending; soul-crushing in its nature. He promised to use this time to catch up, review cases, hammer down his arguments, and overall, just be prepared for the many trials that awaited after the start of the new year.

But in reality, the company of his work kept his hands occupied so his thoughts wouldn’t linger too long on the fact that no one was waiting for him at home. He couldn’t bear that reality. Never had he dreamed at 39 years old that his life would be like this: a lonesome widower married instead to his career. 

Once, in a past not too long ago, he had imagined instead having children with his beloved Marie, spending all of their holidays together as a family, attending Christmas Eve mass before heading home to a feast of duck and wine and all the presents the little ones could open. He envisioned taking them out on Christmas morning to build snowmen and ice skate on the local pond while his wife baked Santa shaped cookies and danced in their oversized kitchen to holiday songs.

But that dream died when she did, buried beneath his expectations and disappointments and overwhelming failures. It had been ten years since her untimely death, and still, he failed to allow himself to move on. He failed to find love or even fascination with another person, too afraid that he would curse them, too, like he had Marie. 

That was until a dark-haired sprite had meandered his way into a bar two months ago. Since then, his attention had been consumed by the pale-faced boy, his very existence gnawing at Erwin in a way that no one ever had before. Not even Marie, as much as he loathed to admit such a controversial thing. He had been a faithful Catholic his whole life, raised to believe certain indoctrinations, never once allowing himself to be honest regarding the attraction he held for members of the same sex. It was all new territory, so terrifying and thrilling to finally lay eyes on such a beautiful creature, a boy just his type.

The hollow ring of his desk phone startled him away from his lingering thoughts, echoing loudly off the walls of the office, so harsh in the otherwise silent space. Erwin grabbed the receiver, holding it to his ear.

“DA’s Office, this is Erwin Smith,” he answered in his normal pragmatic tone. In his state of reverie, he had forgotten to question as to why his office phone was even ringing on a holiday - the rest of the office was closed.

“You left money in my pocket.”

The blunt statement caused Erwin’s blood to run cold and his thoughts cycled through the days prior. Levi. Levi was on the phone. “I did.” He returned the straightforward language, masking whatever excitement or nervousness was trying to seep through his response.

“I didn’t earn it.” The boy sounded winded, but otherwise, he was keeping his tone guarded. 

“It doesn’t matter. It was a gift.” Erwin had slipped several hundred dollars in cash from his Christmas bonus into Levi’s jacket while he was leaning on him by the bar, as well as his business card in hopes it would prompt the young man to call him. It had been three days since then, and he was certain Levi wasn’t going to call. He almost knew he wouldn’t, in fact.

“I don’t do charity,” Levi scoffed, his disgust apparent.

“It was just a Christmas gift,” he repeated reassuringly, keeping his tone low and cool.

“Mhmm,” Levi hummed, skeptical of the kindness.

“Are you hungry?” The lawyer threaded an ink pen through his large knuckles. Why had he asked that? What did he plan to do with the answer? Erwin wasn’t really a ‘fly by the seat of his pants’ type of man. He was a meticulous planner, down to the very last detail. He had little patience for spontaneity. 

There came a brief pause over the line, and the blonde could have sworn he heard a woman whisper something from somewhere in Levi’s background. Whatever was said, it almost sounded encouraging. “Are you a murderer?” The deadpanned question caused Erwin to chuckle, sound warming his chest as he leaned forward in his dark swivel chair, pressing his elbows to his desk.

“I am not,” he replied, amused. “I do work in the D.A.’s office. Or did you miss that when I answered the phone?”

“Don’t get cocky, old man,” the younger boy chastised. “And for your information, I’m fucking starving.”

“I can cook you something,” Erwin offered, rolling over his wrist to peer down at his golden Rolex. It was only a little after four in the afternoon. He should have time to go to the grocery store before it closed for the holiday.

Levi hummed in contemplation. “So you like to commit your murders in your own home.”

“It has a big yard to bury bodies.”

This banter must have been appealing to Levi, because he replied with, “sounds like a swanky place. Deal.”

“Do you want me to pick you up?” Erwin was already closing the many windows open on his computer, scrambling to save his work so he could bolt and begin preparing for the evening.

“No, text me your address. I’ll take a cab.”

“Do you want to give me your number, then?” the lawyer asked, grabbing his cell phone from across his desk and unlocking the home screen. Levi gave him the digits before ending the call with a gruff ‘cya’. Immediately, Erwin texted the address as well as a time he should plan to arrive. He turned off his office lights, maneuvering toward the elevator, his heart hammering in his chest.

\-------------

The smell of smoked salmon filled the kitchen, coupled with the warm aroma of roasted carrots and boiled potatoes, waiting to be mashed. Erwin wasn’t sure what the young man would like and in his excitement, he failed to inquire on the phone. He silently cursed himself for this as he threw a dish towel over his broad shoulder. 

The doorbell chime alerted him to Levi’s arrival. Erwin had changed clothes, dressed down to a simple pair of light wash blue jeans and a long-sleeved waffle henley, a deep maroon that contrasted his bright eyes and blond hair. He was self-conscious as he approached his front door, unsure as to why. He wasn’t expecting anything from tonight, least of all anything in the romantic realm. He just didn’t want to be alone on Christmas eve, not again, and if he could prepare a meal for another person, then that was enough. To simply enjoy another person’s presence in his house was unprecedented. And he felt the strong need to care for the boy, especially after he was drugged and nearly dragged off who knows where. Perhaps, he just needed a companion, too.

Erwin pulled back the door to reveal the boy from the bar, flakes of fresh snow tangled in his dark locks, melting quickly once added to his body heat. His intense eyes flashed up toward Erwin, a smirk painted on his pretty, thin lips. “I need to pay the cab driver,” he said as a greeting.

Instinctively, Erwin reached into his back pocket to retrieve his wallet and handed the boy two twenties without saying a word. A yellow cab idled in his driveway, exhaust pumping out puffs of gray smoke into the dark night. Levi turned on the heel of his combat boot, lithe on his feet as he crunched over snow. He gave the money to the driver then headed back to the front door, where Erwin stood, mouth still agape. 

“Can I come in or you gonna make me freeze my favorite appendage off out here?” the somber boy grunted, a dark eyebrow arched high on his head.

“Oh, of course,” Erwin stated, stepping aside so Levi could enter.

“I can hang up your coat,” the blonde offered as he closed the solid front door, hand extended. Levi eyed him momentarily before agreeing, shirking off his thin jacket and handing it over. He had dressed in a frayed red sweatshirt and tight black jeans, yet again. Erwin noticed gauges in his ears this time. They were small, little ones, black, like the majority of his wardrobe. 

“I didn’t notice those before,” Erwin commented as Levi removed his tall black boots. Tall, Erwin mused to himself, only because Levi was so short, lean calves almost completely covered by the leather column of the shoe.

“My boots?” he asked, face quirked in confusion.

“Your earrings,” Erwin clarified, tapping his own earlobe as he spoke.

To that comment, Levi scoffed. “They’re gauges, old man.” He rolled his obsidian eyes, his annoyance more of a show than anything else.

“I like them.”

Levi shrugged his narrow shoulders before tucking a stray lock of dark hair behind his ear. “So, like, are you rich?”

Erwin had no choice but to laugh at the boy’s candor. “Are you asking that because of my house?”

In what Erwin could only assume was a brief break in his otherwise impregnable wall of indifference, Levi blushed. It was brief, just the faintest dusting of pink across his high cheekbones. “I guess,” he mumbled, turning his face away. 

“I am a lawyer,” Erwin offered as an explanation. Yes, his house was nice. It was nothing too extravagant, a modern style two-story home located in the suburbs of the city. He had a sleek, white Audi parked in one half of his two-car garage and various lawn equipment occupying the other half. He modestly decorated the interior of his house; the color scheme of the home varying shades of warm earth tones, soothing, but still masculine. He had simple, yet nice furniture. It was furniture that you didn’t feel bad sitting in or living on, but still just nice enough to be admired.

“You work in the DA’s office,” Levi countered, tongue sharp once more when he spoke again. “You can’t make _that_ much.”

Levi was outspoken when he chose to be, it didn’t take long to deduce as much. “I don’t make as much as my friends in criminal or family law, that is true.” He couldn’t keep the humor out of his voice as he led the boy down the hall to the kitchen. Levi followed, black eyes large as he admired the details of the house as they passed through it. “But it is the career I have chosen and it keeps me comfortable.”

“Seems kinda boring,” Levi stated as they crossed the threshold into the kitchen. 

“Quite the contrary,” Erwin was quick to defend himself. “Every day brings a new type of case, something to learn from. It’s never the same thing twice in a row.”

“You like being kept on your toes.” Levi is sharp, Erwin thinks. He had been ground down over his minuscule time on this earth, worn razor-thin, much like his physical body, ready to cut and slice and carve.

“I do,” Erwin admitted as he pulled two large dinner plates down from the cabinet, setting them softly on the granite countertop. “You’re right about that.”

Erwin didn’t give his guest instructions or an additional invitation, so Levi was left to stand by the kitchen island, idly leaning against it, observing, just like he himself had been observed before. 

“Are you comfortable with eating at the breakfast nook?” the blond inquired, turning his blue gaze back to the boy. 

Levi looked at the counter, then back up at Erwin. “I don’t give a shit where we eat.”

Erwin smiled to himself, something about the boy’s crass and clipped demeanor was so refreshing. He worked in a field that required the truth to be spun and all angles to be examined closely in order to get to the bottom of things. But for Levi, the truth was blatant. It was easy. He didn’t have to manipulate or tip-toe. He just said what he felt. 

“Thank you,” he replied, finishing the potatoes and serving them onto a plate. “I'm afraid my dining table is a bit of a mess,” Erwin admitted, walking the two dishes over to the small breakfast nook that was nestled beneath the far kitchen window. 

“Yeah, your house is nice but you’re messy,” Levi noted, taking a seat at the small table. 

“I am, you’re right,” Erwin agreed, bringing over two wine glasses and an unopened bottle. It wasn’t untrue, certainly not. Things weren’t gross or unsanitary, they were just disorganized; mail and files and case notes littered about on various flat surfaces. Ceiling fans needed to be dusted, among other things, and lord knows Erwin could probably stand to mop his home’s entryway or wash the window treatments. No, he wasn’t filthy, he had just grown complacent in his loneliness. “It’s a bad habit, I suppose. A symptom of living alone for so long.” He held up the bottle in his hand, raising an eyebrow in a silent offer.

“Good to know you live alone. And I’m more of a beer guy,” Levi commented, eyeing the dark green bottle that was likely filled with rich red wine, “but I can branch out.”

Erwin gave him a small smile before popping the cork and filling their glasses. The blonde settled across the table, folding a napkin in his lap. He glanced up at the boy who seemed to stare down at the dish, examining it. “Sorry, I suppose I should have asked if you liked fish when we spoke earlier.”

Levi lifted his eyes and shook his head. “I’ve only had it in stick form.” He gracefully cut a piece of salmon before holding it up at the end of his fork and examining it. “They’re gross as fuck.”

“Well, I hope you find this better than the stick kind.” Erwin chuckled, chest warming as he did so. “This is fresh-caught salmon. I know it’s not a traditional Christmas meal, but I thought it would suffice.”

Levi popped the fish into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. Erwin could have sworn he saw a fire ignite behind those smoldering, dark irises as he ate.

“Do you like it?” the blond prompted, cutting into his own food and tasting the dish. He was a bit rusty in the kitchen, he knew this, but he still had hopes that he hadn’t lost his skills entirely. It was delicious, by his own standard. But he wanted to make his company something he would enjoy, too.

Levi nodded, the gesture brimming with mild enthusiasm. His usual-somber face lightened a little as he picked up the pace and ate. Up close, Erwin could observe that he was a very gaunt boy. He also looked very young, but considering that he was drinking in a bar, he had to be at least 21. Erwin supposed he should enquire about his age before things got any further, not that he was expecting them to.

“How old are you, Levi?”

At that question, Levi swallowed his food thickly and turned to face Erwin directly, gaze steady on his face. “It depends on what you want.”

Twin blond eyes brows furrowed in confusion, clearly perplexed by the response. “I don’t understand.”

Levi shrugged. “I assume that the bartender told you of my ‘profession’.” He basically spat out the last word, teetering on denial and disgust.

“She told me that you’re a prostitute,” Erwin stated it plainly because that kind of directness seemed to appeal to the younger man.

However, he was surprised when the brunette shook his head. “No,” he said, but then amended, “I mean, I guess, kind of.”

“Kind of?”

Levi paused a moment, tapping his fingers on the bulbous part of his wine glass before taking a long sip. His face flushed a little as he swallowed down the contents. “It depends on how you look at it,” he said finally, lowering the glass to the table. Erwin just waited and watched, knowing that the young man was clearly filtering through his words before he offered an explanation. “I mean, I have sex with them. But sometimes, they also want… other things.” The way he shifted nervously in his chair caused Erwin’s heart to lurch - what exactly had this boy gone through?

“You don’t have to continue on if you don’t want to,” Erwin offered, raising his hand slowly to barely brush Levi’s knuckles. The touch startled the boy, prompting him to pull his hand off the table and ball it into his chest. Yes, he was exactly like a wounded deer. “I’m not going to hurt you, and I didn’t invite you here under the pretenses of ‘earning’ that money I gave you or what have you. I just didn’t want to be alone on Christmas.” That much was true - while the boy was beautiful, Erwin wanted him to know that he had zero expectations or conditions about their time together.

Levi fidgeted again, threading his hands together and lowering them to his lap. “My real age is 24, but some men don’t like that I’m that old. So I let them guess,” he explains, voice soft and tinged with shame. “Whatever they guess, I just agree with it. And it’s usually pretty young, much younger than any decent fuck should hope for, let me tell you.” He shrugged again, the slow rise and fall of his narrow shoulders captivated Erwin. “And by ‘kind of’, I mean they don’t always pay me. I go after men who can buy me things, but I don’t ask them to. They just often do. It's a loophole, ya know? Like girls who go out on dates with dudes and the nicer the date, the more likely they are to put out. I just do it in reverse.”

“So you look for sugar daddies, then?” Erwin prompted, leaning heavily forward, his own wine glass near empty. 

The brunette scoffed again. “I hate that fucking term.”

The lawyer laughed, waving his hand dismissively. “You don’t have a daddy kink, then?”

Erwin was totally unprepared for the response he received. “Fuck yeah, of course I do. I’m here with you, aren’t I? I just don’t like the term ‘sugar’.” He sneered, sticking out his tongue in distaste. “I’m not a gold-digger. I’m just fucking hungry and poor. I don’t expect them to buy me like, a Benz or some shit, but groceries or a bus pass or a real fucking coat would be cool.”

Erwin mulled over the boy’s words carefully. Did that mean that Levi was attracted to him? Was Erwin even old enough to be a ‘daddy’? He supposed at 39, to a man 15 years his junior, he would probably appear that way. His blond hair had the softest wisp of gray at the temples, and on the weekends when his stubble poked through his five o’clock shadow, there was a bit more white than he cared to admit. 

After a moment of thought on Erwin’s part, Levi had resumed eating. “You can eat here, whenever you’re hungry. I enjoy cooking. And I would love to get you a new coat, if the flimsy one by the door is the only one you have.”

Levi rolled his eyes. “I have two cousins I help care for,” he explained. “They’re 18 and 19 and I’m paying for their apartment so they can take classes at the community college.” His tone became serious as he said, “It’s about a lot more than just food and warm outerwear. I just want them to have some kind of sense of security.”

“What other things do they ask of you?”

“My cousins?” 

Erwin shook his head. “No, the men you see.”

Levi’s eyes darkened even further, turning almost completely void as silence filled their small corner of the otherwise spacious kitchen. He stood then, and Erwin began to panic that he had asked too much and now the boy was going to take his leave. However, Levi gripped the bottom of his sweatshirt and pulled it up over his head, messing his dark hair in the process and revealing a sight that Erwin wasn’t prepared for.

Blue and black littered his pale chest and torso, like someone had poured cool-toned watercolors across a stark white canvas, smearing them into a chaotic mess. Some of the bruises were yellow-tinged, indicating they were a bit older. But most were fresh - sable-black, and almost angry-looking. They fanned out, spanning over his shoulders and down his slender arms, decreasing in number the further they traveled from his damaged midsection. Erwin could only guess that they continued down his back and trailed beneath his pants. Levi wore the evidence of the violence inflicted upon him like a banner of shame; his eyes were glued to the floor, arms hanging limp at his side, one hand clutching his sweatshirt as if for dear life. 

“This is what they want, sometimes.” Levi’s voice broke a little as he spoke, and along with it, Erwin’s heart. He could feel the fissure burning in his chest at the vision of the unabashed cruelty that was displayed before him.

“Levi...” Erwin whispered breathlessly, rising to his feet to meet the boy, dinner long forgotten on the table. He was unsure what to do with his hands; he wanted to place them on the brunette in a way so very opposite from what he was used to, to show him physical affection for the first time in his life. But instead, he only brought them to his own face in an attempt to conceal the look of horror he knew was written on it.

“Apparently some dudes get off on it,” he explained, voice back to monotone, removed of the emotion it had possessed before, stripped like the label of a beer bottle.

“They like to hit you?” Erwin couldn’t imagine such a devious act in the bedroom, harming another person like that. Sure, he wasn’t so vanilla that he hadn’t explored things with partners, light spanking and those fuzzy handcuffs included. But this was… different. Erwin’s experiences were done from affection and exploration and consent. These things that had been done to Levi were…

He shrugged, lifting those heavy, dark eyes once more. “The harder they hit, the more they seem to pay.”

“Why do you let them do that?” Erwin couldn’t wrap his mind around such a concept. “This is abuse, Levi. Isn’t there someone who’s supposed to protect you from things like this, like a--”

“Pimp?” Levi cut him off, voice harsh and sarcastic. “Grow up, Erwin. I’m not a streetwalker or something like that.” He moved to pull his sweatshirt back on, his tiny pink nipples had grown hard and pert under the cool air. “Jesus, people just use a fucking app now. Old ass rich dudes like to fuck and beat up guys that look like little boys. It’s not that difficult of a concept to grasp if you stop to think about it.”

Erwin blinked and stood back on the balls of his feet. He had no expectations for that evening, that much was true. But still, this conversation was not something he had even considered remotely in the realm of possibilities. “Are you alright?” That was all he could think to ask.

Levi lowered himself back to the table, casually resuming his dinner. “I guess,” was all he replied. “I guess I’m alright. I--” he started, then stopped, taking a deep breath. “Sorry, I guess I don’t know why I told you all that. I just thought you should know what you were going up against when I took my clothes off later. I usually have to wait for them to heal a little before I can take it again.”

Erwin did not sit back down. Instead, his left hand was clutching the lip of the table tightly, his right hand flexing and unflexing as he worked through the thought of someone abusing the boy. “Why would you have to take your clothes off here?” His voice was stern, demanding answers.

Levi sputtered and gave a confused look. “Do you prefer to fuck with your clothes on?”

“I already told you that I didn’t bring you here for sex.”

This made Levi truly laugh; it was humorless, but it was a laugh all the same. “Did you not?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Just because you don’t have the app doesn’t mean we can’t fuck. If you’re not into the bruises and shit, I can keep my shirt on or I can just suck your dick.” He sounded so callous, almost casual and nonchalant as if he were listing the items on a menu at a restaurant. “It doesn’t really matter.”

Erwin sighed heavily and ran a large hand through his blonde locks, messing them a little as he went. The offer sounded so tempting, those sweet, pink lips wrapped around his throbbing erection. He couldn’t even remember the last time someone did that. Last year, maybe? When he got a little too drunk when out with Mike and brought home some blond girl who looked a little like his late Marie. But shaking his head, he knew he couldn’t do such lewd things with a man in such a condition. It wouldn’t be right. 

Erwin prided himself on being a man of virtue, the yardstick that morality could be measured with, a keeper of promises and decency and principles. He took his character seriously, not just as a DA or an attorney, but as a man. He knew he wasn’t perfect, nor did he deem himself as such, but damn it, did he try his best to always do the right thing. That’s why he surprised himself when he leaned down to capture the smaller boy’s mouth in a kiss, the taste so sweet, just as he predicted.

The wine was still a little rich on his lips as Erwin was conscious to make his movements chaste and slow, free of demands and pressure or force. He wanted Levi to know what it was like to be kissed properly as he cupped his cheeks and tilted his head. Levi was responsive, moving his tongue across Erwin’s mouth, as if begging him to open his further, to deepen their motions, but Erwin did not cave. Instead, he pulled away, leaving the smaller boy to stare up and him, eyes half-lidded and cheeks holding onto the slightest flush.

“I bought a Christmas cake, Levi. Would you like a piece?”

“Yes,” the raven-haired boy whispered, still in a daze from their kiss.

Erwin rose to full height once more, towering over his companion, letting his finger slowly drag off the brunette’s cheek, a subtle brushing of skin. “I’ll be right back,” he offered, turning on his bare heel and heading back to the main part of the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first time writing a Levi/Erwin after loving the ship so much. There are a lot of great Eruri's out there, so I hope I do this fandom / ship justice. Thanks for reading and please leave me a comment. Part two will come along soon (a few weeks) and it will contain quite a bit of smut, so be prepared for that. It will also probably be a lot longer than this, so I hope it will be worth the wait.  
> Please tell me how I'm AOT ship trash below.  
> Thanks for reading.
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr at the same name.


	2. Drowning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes at the bottom! See you there!

Erwin awoke to find that the spot beside him in bed had grown cold, almost like ice as he ran his hand over the smooth cotton sheet. Startled, he threw open his eyes and sat up, scanning for some sign of life within his bedroom. Dark blue light rimmed the edges of his blinds, an indication that day was on the very precipice of dawning, not quite there, but so very close. 

He thought surely that yesterday’s events couldn’t have been a dream. After they finished their meal last night, Erwin ran the boy a bath in the oversized, clawfoot tub, the porcelain basin the one thing his beloved Marie had insisted on having when their house was built. _“It’s a classic piece, honey. Just_ this _tub, that’s all I ask_.” And of course, the blonde had given it to her. How could he ever deny his sweet, young wife? 

But the raven-haired creature had looked so small in it, more like a child and less like a grown man as he sank into the steaming waters. Erwin didn’t linger long, only gave him the supplies he would need in the bath before allowing him his privacy. But it gnawed at the attorney that his speculations had been correct: the battered and bruised flesh scaled the entirety of his body. He was more covered in lacerations than not.

During Levi’s bath, Erwin busied himself at his messy kitchen table, reviewing a court document he needed for a trial starting after the new year. While he could see the words, he couldn’t comprehend them, his mind upstairs, lingering on the young man instead. Where would he be now, if he weren’t here at Erwin’s? Would he be sleeping on the snowy streets? Occupying a filthy hotel bed for some abusive prick? It curdled his stomach to think too hard about it. 

‘ _What are you doing, Smith?’_ he asked himself, thumbing through the documents occupying the manilla folder. He had no idea, in all actuality. Bringing a boy home who he only knew from a handful of observations and even fewer encounters at some bar was extremely outside the norm. He was usually so much more careful than this, meticulous, a planner. Every movement had a calculated measure behind it, thoughtfully mulled over, and weighed accordingly. 

But in this instance, Erwin wasn’t sure. It was like jumping headfirst into dark, black waters. How far was the bottom? Would he drown from his own misgivings, or even worse, in his own expectations? 

Though if he really thought about it, he had actually been drowning this whole time, the last ten years, wallowing in suffocating loneliness and the misguided ideology that he didn’t deserve happiness. And perhaps the life raft that had come to save him appeared in the form of a raven-haired boy, as battered and bruised as he was, but still, a vessel meant to carry him to shore.

Upon realizing his reverie had consumed the better part of an hour, Erwin began to worry about the boy’s health. Setting his work down, he ascended the stairs back to his room, cautiously knocking on the en suite bathroom door. “Levi?” he called, doing his best to mask the worry that plagued his voice. After a long moment had passed without an answer, he tried again, asking a little louder, “Levi, are you alright?”

Finally, he reached his breaking point, opening the solid oak door to reveal the boy asleep in the water, face propped up on a rolled washcloth, leaning heavily on the slender expanse of porcelain edging the tub. His long lashes looked even darker, shining from the warm water and resting on his prominent cheekbones. Even his obsidian hair wet and clinging to his neck as if for dear life gave Erwin a truer picture of his beauty. In his slumber, long gone were the sharp edges that he carried on his expression, so rigid and untamed. They were replaced instead with the softness a boy might possess, cheeks hinted with a touch of red from the heated bath, though the water was only growing tepid under his stilled frame.

“Baby boy,” Erwin whispered, kneeling next to the tub, carefully and gently carding the half-dry bangs away from his face. “Why don’t you rest somewhere more comfortable?” 

“Mmm?” the boy hummed, stirring only a little, causing minuscule ripples to dance across the water’s surface, echoing off of his thin legs that were pinched together at the knees.

“Let’s get you out of the water,” Erwin replied, running the tips of his fingers over the pale neck, so white and smooth under the bathroom’s tungsten lighting. “Aren’t you cold?”

“Mhmm,” Levi nodded affirmatively, willing his eyes half-open. Where they were once so empty and lifeless before, they were now edged with something new. Not completely brightened, no, but up close, Erwin could see the saturated cerulean burning, smoldering within the confines of his irises, just tinged with the makings of something akin to gratitude, though the lawyer couldn’t be certain. 

“Let me get you a towel,” the blonde stated, rising to his full height. Next to the tub was a cabinet that was stuffed with soft blue linens, color-coordinated to the way Marie had decorated the bathroom all those years ago, matching the turquoise countertops and oceanic wall decor. Unfurling one, he held it out, doing his best to not stare at Levi’s trembling figure as he pulled himself from the lukewarm water. 

Stepping carefully onto the pristine tile, Levi leaned into the towel, Erwin wrapping it around his slender shoulders. “There,” Erwin muttered, covering the petite man, cradling him for just a moment in a brief embrace, encaptured by the lavender scent that clung to his alabaster skin.

“Perv,” the boy teased with a puff of air, prompting Erwin to take a step back, a sheepish expression on his otherwise masculine face. Even though his limbs were still heavy with sleep and eyelids drooping with exhaustion, Levi kept a smirk on his thin lips and a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“I didn’t mean--”

“Shush, I am joking,” he stated, words half groggy. He pulled the oversized bath sheet tighter around himself, casting a look up at the attorney. “Now take me to bed.”

“Sure, okay," Erwin replied, releasing a heavy breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “Are you dry enough? I don’t want you to catch a cold--”

“It’ll be hard to catch a cold when a human furnace is snuggling me,” Levi retorted with such authority that Erwin felt it impossible to argue. 

Hold Levi? In his bed? Would that be crossing a line? 

“My pajamas might be a bit too big for you,” the attorney stated diffidently, attempting to stifle any lewd thoughts that bubbled in his brain of the smaller man in one of his old t-shirts, the too-large garment hanging off of him like a dress, leaving slender shoulders and sharp collarbones so teasingly exposed. The very conjuring of the image caused Erwin’s mouth to run dry and his chest to feel tight. Maybe he really was a pervert.

“I don’t care,” Levi scoffed, taking a woozy step toward the door. Erwin observed that he walked like he was drunk, but chalked it up to the idea that he was likely staggering about due to the numbness in his extremities from sleeping so awkwardly in the bathtub.

They had proceeded from there, Erwin offering the boy the smallest shirt he could find while Levi finished toweling off. The top was one of Marie’s old tennis club t-shirts, but he didn’t share that information. It fit Levi for the most part, just a little loose across his narrow stomach. The shirt, paired with the thin black boxers he had worn over was apparently all he needed, stating it passed for acceptable sleepwear. The brunette crawled underneath the goose down duvet, snuggling into the left side of the bed, closest to the bathroom. Erwin slept on the right, always had, as it was nearest to the bedroom door that led to the hallway. It was a habit his father had instilled in him growing up: the man sleeps closest to the door, acting as a guard for his woman, the first line of defense should there ever be a home invasion.

Levi was no woman, but he was certainly something Erwin wanted to protect. 

Once Erwin joined him under the blankets, only after changing into nightclothes of his own, Levi slid over to curl up on the blonde’s broad chest. His hair was still a little damp, the last of the moisture clinging on the fine strands closest to his neck. Erwin wasted no time threading his fingers through them and over them, continuing to do so long after the boy fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Erwin wasn’t sure when he himself fell asleep, it was sometime late, much later than Levi, forcing himself to stay alert, his heart pounding at the very idea that should he drift off, he would awake to find it was all just a dream.

Now, his greatest fear realized, he sprang up and out of the four-poster bed, paying no mind to how cold the hardwood floor was beneath his bare feet. He willed his wild thoughts to calm down, but they didn’t, not until he reached the bottom of his steps and he smelled the warm wafting of cinnamon and syrup and something so vaguely familiar, it pulled at his chest. 

Slowing his steps, he crossed the living room until he lingered in the entryway that separated the two spaces, arms stretched so that both solid, formidable hands braced the doorframe. Before his eyes was a sight that simultaneously touched his heart and stirred his loins. Levi had taken it upon himself to prepare breakfast, still dressed in that shirt that barely covered the gorgeous globes of his ass, the black fabric of his athletic cut boxers hugging where the delicate curve met the back of his thighs. He was humming noncommittally, voice box vibrating a simple tune low in his throat. Erwin didn’t recognize the song, but it pleased the tall blonde to know that Levi felt comfortable enough to let his guard down to do such a simple, yet private, thing.

“What are you making?”

The lawyer’s question startled Levi, causing him to drop the spatula as he let out a little squeak that was so adorable, Erwin couldn’t help but chuckle softly. Levi whipped his head around, a hardened expression on his delicate features. “Fuckers who scare the shit outta me don’t get breakfast, so it doesn’t matter,” Levi pouted, leaning down to grab the utensil he had dropped before washing it off in the sink. It took all the will-power the lawyer possessed not to growl at the view of Levi bending over.

“Even if it’s prepared in my kitchen?” the blonde teased, his body relaxing as his mind slowly came to terms with the fact that Levi was still here, still in his house. He hadn’t run off or abandoned him. 

“Tch,” Levi chided as he kissed his teeth, turning back to the stove. “Not even then.”

Erwin hummed an acknowledgment, stifling another small laugh as he released the vice grip on the doorway’s wood trim, taking a tentative step further into the kitchen. “Do you need help?” he asked, placing a large hand at the small of Levi’s back, fingers itching to hold, to increase pressure, something, anything. 

Midnight-blue eyes glanced up, clearly scanning Erwin’s strong features. “You have grays in your beard,” the boy deadpanned, pointing to Erwin’s stubble, ignoring the other man’s offer of assistance.

“That’s what happens when you hit my age.” Erwin scrubbed a large palm over his chiseled chin. He wasn’t self-conscious about it, though he probably would have been if the younger boy hadn’t already openly confessed his attraction toward him, citing their age difference as a bonus. Plus, it was hardly a beard, more of just a little overgrowth from the night.

“It’s kinda hot,” Levi stated matter-of-factly with a shrug of his slight shoulders, the gray fabric of his t-shirt barely balling up at his shoulder blades at the gesture. He had returned back to prepping their meal, running the spatula around the rim of one of the hotcakes, testing to see if it was ready to flip.

Erwin couldn’t resist pressing the faintest kiss to Levi’s temple at the compliment that had been given to him. He felt like a new man in the brunette’s presence: wanted, needed, valued. It wasn’t something he had felt for a long time. “Thank you,” he whispered as he pulled his lips away from the black locks, breathing deeply the scent of lavender and cinnamon. “And thank you for making breakfast.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Levi stated, attempting to shoo the blonde off with a dismissive wave of his hand, but even a blind man could have seen through that facade; the dusting of pink of Levi’s cheeks did not go unnoticed. “It’s just pancakes.”

“Are you making these from scratch?” Erwin inquired, taking a moment to scan through the ingredients that were set out on the island. A half-empty carton of eggs laid open on the granite countertop, as well as half a bag of flour and measuring cups. In the large basin of the sink rested a stainless steel mixing bowl, dirtied with the remnants of pancake batter. 

“Yeah.”

“There's a mix in the pantry that you just add water to.”

This earned Erwin an incredulous side-eye coupled with a pained grimace. “No fucking way, not when you have all the stuff here I need, anyway.”

“Really?” Erwin pressed, doing his best to keep any hint of surprise out of his question. The boy said he was poor, and he didn’t want him to think that he was being judged or stereotyped.

“Yeah…” Levi said, his voice suddenly very soft, a thoughtful line running across his thin lips. “Besides, these cinnamon pancakes are a bit of a tradition. My mom used to make them every year, no matter what.”

“For Christmas?” Erwin asked, turning so he could lean against the cabinet, folding his thick arms across his wide chest. He was so tall that his tailbone rested easily against the sharp edge of the counter.

“For my birthday.”

“Your birthday?” 

Levi only hummed, flipping the flapjack in the cast iron skillet. It landed with a soft ‘plop’, revealing a perfectly golden brown top. “Yeah,” was all he replied.

“Levi,” Erwin started, then stopped, his throat feeling heavy with emotion as he attempted to connect the dots. “Is today your birthday?”

His response was yet another side-eye, composed of equal parts remorse and nostalgia. It was simply amazing how eyes so dark could be so expressive, so transformative, twin windows to a very troubled soul. It was an answer without being an answer at all.

“Happy birthday, sweet boy,” Erwin whispered, leaning across the counter to tuck a piece of dark hair behind the shorter man’s ear.

“Thank you,” he muttered half-heartedly before turning off the stovetop and removing the pancakes, placing a short stack onto two separate plates.

“I was worried you weren’t going to be here,” Erwin admitted honestly, paying next to no attention to the food Levi had prepared. He was utterly transfixed, attention rapt and locked onto the young man.

“It snowed a lot overnight,” Levi offered as an explanation, making no move to finish serving breakfast. He didn’t look over at Erwin, instead, he kept his eyes locked out the four-pane window above the large farmhouse-style sink. The early morning sun filtered through the blue-gray kitchen curtains, reflecting the pearly white sheen from the freshly fallen snow outside.

“Is that the only reason?” Erwin’s heart lurched at the idea, but he would accept it if that were the case. They had done nothing more than kiss and cuddle, all so innocent. There would be no hard feelings, because after all, this had been for a mutual benefit: neither man wanting to be alone last night, nor this morning. And if all they were destined to share was the one night of beautiful, peaceful intimacy, then so be it. Erwin wouldn’t change it or take it back, he would simply cherish its memory.

A pregnant pause filled the kitchen, anchoring both men in place, permeating the stillness. “No,” Levi answered finally, never once allowing his gaze to falter from the winter scene just on the other side of the glass. “It’s not.”

“Ah,” Erwin commented, relief washing over him, numbing his toes and soothing the anxiety that had so very sneakily crawled up his chest. “I am delighted to hear that.”

“Yeah, well,” Levi huffed, grabbing both plates, “you better be fucking delighted at how delicious these pancakes are, old man.”

Erwin laughed then, the sound drawing from somewhere deep inside of him, a noise that quaked his shoulders and forced him to double over. It was a rare thing, a laugh like that, spurred on by unadulterated joy; one that rawed the throat and burned the lungs. Erwin rarely laughed like that. Sure, Mike cracked wise jokes or poked fun at Erwin, causing an occasional chuckle or an amused sigh. But he hadn’t felt happiness like this for a very long time.

“Stop cackling and come eat you fuckin’ hyena,” the dark brunette chastised, setting the table at the breakfast nook. 

Erwin happily obliged.

\----------

Christmas break came and went, the boy staying in Erwin’s house, and in his bed, all through the holiday season. Days progressed much the same, Erwin much too afraid to touch the younger man outside of gentle kisses and feather-light strokes over the nape of his neck. The bruises were fading from Levi’s body, but not from Erwin’s mind. Touching him almost felt too indulgent, too risky still, the blonde constantly in fear that their melding of skin would do more harm than good. He was a baby boy, a treasure to be valued and cared for, doted on, and worshipped. 

And Levi let him, bless the raven-haired minx. He was so reluctant at first, insistent that everything came with a price. That would make sense, wouldn’t it? That Erwin’s generosity came with an ultimatum, a tit for tat? He was relentless about balancing the scales, blatantly offering his body as payment.

But Erwin didn’t want it. Not in that sense, at least.

Erwin wanted all of the boy, every alabaster inch. But not as a form of recompense or debt-collecting, no. Erwin wanted him with a genuine, heartfelt need, a desire that burned his body, scorching his bones. And all we wanted was Levi to feel that in return.

The pair learned more about each other over the week. While Erwin never divulged information regarding his late wife, he did share some things. He touched on the fact that while he was interested in men, he had never had anal sex with one. The furthest he had ever gone with a man was when received a heated blowjob from a guy in a bathroom while he was attending a conference out of state. But he assured Levi that the interest was there, it was just muddied with apprehension and good old-fashioned Catholic guilt. 

Levi shared in turn, too. He considered himself a ‘twink’, but wanted more than what he was getting from those awful apps. Erwin learned that Levi did in fact support his younger cousins, paying for their room and board at their college’s apartment complex. Farlan and Isabelle were half brother and sister, the children of his only other living relative, a ‘vagabond’ he called Uncle Kenny. Levi didn’t even have an apartment or a permanent place to live, he stayed mostly with the men he met up with, occasionally crashing at his cousins’ place if he could sneak past the campus security at night. Apparently, he didn’t have much in terms of material possessions either, keeping what little he owned in Farlan’s room.

When Erwin asked why Levi didn’t go to college like his cousins, the boy explained he was simply ‘too stupid’ and that many had told him he would be better suited for using his body to earn income. Erwin had never blatantly disagreed with something so much in his life, offering the kindest and sweetest words he could think of in an effort to counter such a toxic disposition. Erwin meant every word he said as he told Levi that he was beautiful, a darling boy, a magnificent creature. He would say them until the boy believed him, repeating them like an incantation. 

All too soon, their week was up, January third arriving, indicating that it was time for Erwin to return to the routine allotted by the judicial system, the repetition of the 9 to 5 and ‘then some’ pulling him from the near dream-like state he had been walking around in. But it was a reality so much sweeter than a dream, because Levi was there, and he was anything but an illusion.

“You can stay here, Levi,” Erwin offered that morning, fixing his tie in the large mirror that hung over the wardrobe. From where he was standing, he could see Levi seated on the edge of the unmade bed, knees pulled to his chest as he picked at the hem of Erwin’s shirt that he had worn as a pajama top.

Once the stores reopened after Christmas, the attorney had made a trip to get things to make Levi more comfortable, including a few basic toiletries, new boxers, as well as several pairs of athletic shorts and cotton sleep pants that he could wear to bed. However, the boy was pretty persistent that nothing was better than sleeping in Erwin’s shirts.

The blonde made it a point not to argue, his own selfish reasons in tow. Waking up next to Levi was absolutely perfect, and each passing morning made it all the more difficult for him to restrain his urges, but he did. How Erwin wanted to demonstrate to Levi that he was different from the men that had used and abused him. He had that much to prove to the both of them.

“While you’re at work?” Levi asked, meeting Erwin’s gaze in the mirror, his voice soft from sleep. He rested a tinted cheek on his own knees, watching the older man’s every move.

“Yes, of course,” Erwin gave a firm nod, finishing the Windsor knot in his tie. “If you’d like, of course. You’re welcome to stay here as long as you like.”

Levi hummed before lowering one foot down to the floor, his arms still hugging his other knee to his chest. He curled and uncurled his toes delicately, as if in contemplation. “What’s it cost?”

This question exasperated Erwin, but he didn’t let it show on his face. Levi couldn’t help that he had been conditioned to believe that acts of kindness came with a price. In his world, there was no such thing as a good samaritan or a helping hand. The hands that touched him only sought to devour and destroy.

“Baby boy,” Erwin cooed, tangling his thick fingers through the fine dark locks once more, both the action and the pet name becoming a habit, “there is no price.” He crouched before the shorter man, pressing his forehead into a pale, knobby knee, placing chaste kisses on the very top of the boy’s shin bone. 

“Why?” Levi asked finally, a question he hadn’t asked in the entire week he had come to stay there. But it was a question Erwin was sure that had been burning the very catacombs of the brunette’s chest cavity, heavy with apprehension. 

“I have more than enough and I just want to share it with you,” Erwin explained simply, his sky-blue gaze capturing Levi’s rapt attention. “Indulge this old man and stay.” Erwin knew the look he was giving was pleading, and probably asking for too much. Erwin didn’t own this man and he would do his damndest to ensure that no one ever would. His petite body may have been bruised and broken, beaten into submission by the wretched ways of much crueler men. But if Erwin could keep it from happening again, he would do it. 

“For the sake of an old man,” Levi offered in agreement, tone teasing but still laced with relief. The walls that surrounded the brunette’s heart were surely thick and near impenetrable, but Erwin would find a way. He had to.

“I’ll see you tonight then.” Erwin gave one final kiss to the boy’s leg, before rising to tower over the figure in the bed. Leaning forward, the attorney braced one arm on either side of Levi, palms flat and firm as they dug into the soft mattress. Their noses were only centimeters apart, lips so close he could feel the nervous trembling of Levi’s as they quivered into an anticipatory smirk. 

“I’ll see you tonight,” Levi agreed, his words a whisper that ghosted against Erwin’s cheek.

\--------

The first day back from the break was an absolute shit show. The pure number of voicemails and emails in his inbox has been proof enough alone. Crime increased over Christmas, the law pausing for no one. Thefts spiked at the holiday, including home invasions and armed robberies. Drunk driving over New Year’s was a given, unfortunately, as were the rape and sexual assault cases made from the area’s bars and night clubs. And finally, there was a stabbing turned gunfight at an apartment building in downtown, resulting in a young woman’s untimely death. All of this not including the cases that were already scheduled and on the docket.

Yes, this was going to be a very daunting few weeks.

The snow cleared, for the most part, rays of sun breaking through the blanket of gray clouds worked to melt it away. It wouldn’t last long, Erwin knew, not with the way winters worked in the bitter New England. Whatever respite they were receiving now would only double as January and February progressed. Erwin enjoyed the moment of solidarity the car ride home offered, especially now that the roads were a tad easier to navigate than they had been that morning since they had been shoveled and cleared.

It was late, much later than he had promised Levi he would be home, though through no fault of his own. He was afraid, he could tell by the fluttering in his chest and the quaking of his hands on the steering wheel. He was terrified that when he pulled up and walked into his home, no one would be there, exactly how it had been the last ten years. How had Erwin become so adapted to one’s presence in only just a week after years of biting loneliness? Why was the thought of going back to the norm so absolutely mortifying? Erwin had pushed aside the possibility that he wasn’t meant to be alone, that he thrived off of having another person. He didn’t want to believe that he needed someone to need him; if he drew that conclusion, it would truly break him.

“Levi?” Erwin called as he gingerly opened the heavy door leading from the garage to the kitchen, peeling off his black Oxfords as he did so. He knew he would need to wipe the moisture from the melted snow off them if he was to preserve the Italian leather. 

A response didn’t come. Erwin’s pulse quickened as he lowered his briefcase next to his shoes. He let his eyes scan the kitchen for movement, but was taken aback by how clean the room was, every inch of tile sparkling and pristine. It even smelled of lemon cleaner and disinfectant spray.

Erwin continued through the house, making his way toward the stairwell only to find the rest of the dwelling in a similar state as the kitchen. The dining table had been cleared off, all of his papers organized in what appeared to be three distinct stacks: bills, work documents, and personal notes. Erwin hadn’t seen the solid oak tabletop in years. The entirety of the living room smelled of lavender laundry soap and fresh linens, the remotes and magazines organized on the glass sofa table. Erwin would go as far as to surmise that every surface in the home had been dusted and polished as well. 

Levi had had a very busy day, that much could be told.

“Levi?” Erwin called up the staircase, pausing to place his hand on the solid banister. The sun had long set, bringing on the long winter night, making it easy to spot the soft lighting warming the upstairs hall even from his position at the bottom step. 

Carefully he treaded up each step, his heart spiking with each creak of the wooden stairs. Was Levi still here? He rounded the corner, making his way to the master bedroom. The door was halfway open, revealing the light source.

“Levi --” but Erwin’s call was cut short as he opened the door fully. He blinked heavily, unsure if what he was seeing was real. Had he fallen asleep at his desk back at the office? That seemed closer to reality than what he was truly seeing.

“Welcome home, daddy,” the raven-haired boy crooned. He was perched at the foot of the beautifully made bed, dressed only in a midnight blue babydoll that hung loosely from his alabaster skin, thought the dark straps hugged the refined canyons of his collarbone. The lace of the bodice was see-through, giving tempting, teasing glimpses of the matching panties he wore beneath, the high v-cut of the material on his slim waist made his svelte legs look long. Whatever traces of bruises remained were yellowed and faded, melding into the porcelain housed beneath. 

The moisture in Erwin’s mouth evaporated as his blood ran cold, all of his body heat rushing to his lower half, stirring a long-dormant desire in the very depth of his loins. “Levi...” he whispered breathlessly, the boy’s name spoken so quietly, but still laden with a tangible urgency. His feet felt like lead as he took another step closer, fingertips harboring electricity, an itch to touch and worship and hold.

Levi lowered himself from the bed and onto the hardwood, the movement lithe and graceful, nearly cat-like. Erwin remained rooted in place as the boy approached like water, slender form moving with elegant fluidity. He outstretched his petite arms, reaching up to place feather-light touches on Erwin's face, smoothing his thumbs over the angular divots of the blonde’s prominent cheekbones. Levi’s small hands felt so cool on his ruddy, warm face. Erwin didn’t need to look in a mirror to know that it was painted Scarlett, inflamed from both his embarrassment and arousal. 

Okay, so perhaps his blood rushed to _two_ places.

“How was your day?” Levi’s voice was low and composed, nearly inaudible over the roaring in Erwin’s ears. He asked the question as he looked up through heavy, thick lashes. They were so gorgeous as they curled, long and dark, framing such powerful, commanding eyes. 

“It was--” Erwin started, then stopped, words lost on himself as he slowly brought his own hands to the boy’s narrow hips. He couldn’t help but moan ever so softly at the connection, his brain constantly making an effort to filter through and make sense of what was happening.

Levi brought his hands to meet Erwin’s, urging the taller man to push harder, to actually _hold_ him earnestly. Erwin felt the soft skin, even thru the lace garment, the flesh so supple and pliable, as if begging to be touched. 

“Was it a good day?” the ravenette boy inquired, leaning in closer. Once he was sure Erwin’s hand’s wouldn’t retreat, his attention refocused to the necktie that the lawyer had so meticulously put on that morning, slowly undoing the expert knot. “Did you work hard, daddy?” he pressed, words like velvet, crooned from such sweet lips.

“I did,” Erwin murmured, regaining some of his consciousness, eyes raking over Levi’s frame. He was suddenly painfully aware of their size difference now that they were finally this close, standing, touching one another in a way they hadn’t before. Levi was a man, full-grown and now 25 years old, but somehow, even though Erwin knew this, he couldn’t shake the word _boy_ from his brain. _His_ baby boy, his sweet little lover, so eager to please and ardent for attention, so very deserving of everything Erwin could give him and more.

“Oh, did you?” Levi asked coyly, slipping the tips of his fingers underneath the larger man’s suit jacket, slowly coaxing it off the lawyer’s ample frame, guiding it down long, toned arms until it breached his hands, falling in a heap on the floor. 

“Yes,” came the reply from a heavy tongue.

“Hmm,” the boy hummed, arching a single, slender brow, as if almost in a challenge. Nimble fingers slid over his expensive linen dress shirt, working their way up to the collar, slow, calculated movements undid white buttons, unfastening them one by one. “I was hoping that I could help you relax,” the boy whispered, breath haughty as he reached the final buttons that disappeared under the waistline of gray slacks. He untucked the shirt and threw it to the floor, accompanying the lawyer’s expensive suit jacket.

“Is that so?” Erwin asked, reaching out to put a large, powerful hand on the back of Levi’s thin neck, tracing his thumb over the refined black hairs of his dark undercut. 

“I aim to please, _daddy_ .” And oh, that word, falling from Levi’s lips now several times, was no accident. It toyed with his emotions, pushing his sanity right to the fringes; it was a word - no - a _title_ he thought he would never hear. He should have been disturbed by the way it immediately hardened his dick, his arousal so overwhelmingly obvious inside his dress pants. He wanted to hate it, to ask Levi to stop, to say something else. But he couldn’t, not when it felt so good to be needed and wanted, not when it felt so good to be called such a scandalous thing.

“Levi…” he whispered yet again as he forced coherent thoughts to enter his head. “Levi, you don’t have to…” was all he could think to say as the boy slid down to his knees, the baby doll fanning so beautifully over his trim thighs. 

The sound of his belt buckle clattering almost drowned out Levi’s insistent, “I know that.” And before he could register much else, Erwin felt his pants slide down his own legs, crumpling at his ankles in a heap. 

“May I?” Levi asked, dark eyes wide with want and desire, nosing at the clothed erection and giving a slight growl reminiscent of a purr. Erwin could only guess that the small noise was in approval of his size, the stretched fabric of his boxer briefs leaving little to the imagination given the very large tent he was pitching. 

“Please,” Erwin consented, running the hand on Levi’s neck up to place it on the crown of his head instead, tracing fingers through that dark, silky hair he had come to adore touching. 

The brunette waited no longer, curling his fingers beneath the waistband of Erwin’s undergarment, tugging it down to his knees, allowing his very erect and eager member to be free.

His dick fell heavy between his legs, swollen from arousal but twitching from the lack of stimulation. Erwin felt that he, as a grown man, should have felt embarrassed by how soaked his cockhead already was with precum, but those reservations were long forgotten as a sweet, keen mouth gave the waiting crown a tiny, tender kitten lick. 

Erwin shuddered, the sensation racking his body from head to toe. The sight was too erotic, as if pulled from one of the various fantasies he had securely locked away in the back of his mind, far too ashamed to ever admit such desires, such taboos, aloud. The sensation only continued as Levi did, the boy licking a long, wet stripe from base to tip, offering a teasing tap of his tongue to the leaking slit. “You’re so big, daddy,” he crooned, only this time, it was evident he was beginning to falter, the compliment weighted with lust. 

“You’re a very good boy,” Erwin praised him, trembling as he fisted the dark locks instead of gently stroking them. He needed _more_ but he resolved himself not to take or pry or demand.

Levi’s response was positive, though it did not come in the form of words. Instead, he wrapped his pretty lips around the end, slowly taking it into his wet, hot mouth. Erwin groaned loudly as he watched himself disappear into the dainty, small opening, sapphire eyes half-lidded. Only about two-thirds of his length had entered by the time he felt himself bottom out, the sensitive tip touching the back of Levi’s throat.

Hot tears pricked Levi’s eyes, but he said no words of complaint, only giving hums of satisfaction. He didn’t stop there, instead, he picked up the pace, beginning to slowly bob his head and hollow his cheeks, the slow drag making Erwin feel like he was melting. Had anyone ever blown him like this? It was so obscene, the way Levi nearly choked from the girth, adding his hands to help him pump, spreading his own saliva over the thick, flushed cock. Erwin could come just like that, he knew, and the idea of filling that tiny, delicate mouth with hot seed about made him do just that. But that wasn’t what he wanted. He didn’t want that for himself, and more importantly, he didn’t want that for Levi.

“Stop,” Erwin choked on the command, using his hand’s position on Levi’s head to yank the boy off before he could climax. 

“Is something wrong?” Levi asked, suddenly nervous. His expression was tinged with concern, clearly afraid that he had made a mistake and would be punished for it.

“No,” Erwin insisted, “no sweet boy you haven’t. I just don’t want to… finish that way.”

“I’ll swallow. I won’t get the floors dirty.” The offer broke Erwin’s heart, as if the mess was the issue. They could mess and dirty every corner of this house, and that wouldn’t matter to Erwin. 

“No, darling,” the blond insisted, moving his hands to the tops of Levi’s shoulders, using his thumb to smooth a reassuring circle into the younger man’s clavicle. “I want to finish with you. Please, if I may.”

What Erwin was expecting was different from what he received. 

He expected terse words, edged with sarcasm, a teasing ‘old man’ comment given in jest for the way the lawyer spoke. But what he received instead was a bleary nod and a stream of tears rolling down a pallid, unreadable face.

“Levi?” Erwin pulled the dark-haired man into a heavy embrace, lifting him from the ground in the process, strong arms wrapped tightly around the paltry frame. “My baby boy, are you alright? Did I hurt you?”

Levi shook his head, though Erwin couldn’t see it, he could still feel the gesture against his shoulder. The lawyer carefully stepped out of the garments that were bunched at his ankles as Levi tucked his legs around Erwin’s torso. Together, wrapped in that embrace, they walked toward the bed, the blonde lowering Levi to the mattress carefully until his back hit the duvet.

“Don’t you cry, darling,” Erwin murmured, running a finger along the soft edge of Levi’s cheek. He could feel the moisture there, left behind from rogue tears. He didn’t want to see his boy cry, never. “I haven’t even kissed you properly.”

“Then kiss me,” came the demand, husky and needy and begging, his expression a direct reflection of his words. There they were, those impenetrable walls. They hadn’t come down completely, but they had begun, and that opening was all Erwin needed.

He didn’t wait, tipping his own head down to capture swollen, wet lips. It started off as a simple gesture, a tender, loving exchange, much like the one they had shared in the kitchen on Christmas Eve. But it didn’t take long for hands to card through hair and mouths to open wider, tongues exploring the newness of each other. Erwin may have been out of practice, but he certainly wasn’t unskilled, and his desire for his partner made him only more attentive and fervent. 

“Take this off,” Levi demanded once they separated after what seemed like an eternity in Erwin’s mind. The boy was tugging at the hem of his white undershirt, the only garment left on his body. Erwin stood up to full height before reaching behind him and fisting the back of the shirt, pulling it up and over his head, messing his gorgeous blond locks in the process.

“ _Fuck_.” The expletive came out in a moan, burdened with unabashed hunger, Levi’s eyes tracing over Erwin’s chest and torso.

The lawyer wasn’t quite forty, nor was he a stranger to the gym. But he felt very self-aware at that moment, almost as if he were being assessed and dissected. He knew his forearms and chest were solid, he made it a point to lift weights or play basketball at least three or four times a week. He did it mostly in an attempt to work his body out to the point of exhaustion so that he could sleep at night without the aid of melatonin, or on the worst nights, Ambien. And while these were positive attributes, he hated his stomach. _I wish you could have seen me at your age_ , Erwin thought wistfully, remembering the six-pack and tight ‘V’ he once sported nearly fifteen years ago. And while he wasn’t overweight by any means, long gone were those taut abs. They had been regretfully replaced by the smallest layer of butterfat, evidence of a high-stress desk job, and an affinity for red meat. 

“I’m sure you’ve seen better,” the blonde stated, a boyish expression on his face, color flooding across his neck and chest. What would this young, gorgeous creature want with such a flabby old attorney? 

“Fuck no I haven’t,” Levi all but growled, propping himself up on bony elbows as if to give himself a better view. “Jesus fuck, your chest is to die for and your stomach is so sexy.” As he spoke, his eyes traced the golden hair below his belly button, all the way down to his cock, still swollen and wet with Levi’s spit. “And I knew you’d be packin’, but _fuck_ , come here.”

Not one to disappoint, Erwin obliged, finding his lover’s lips once again. It was a crashing, hurried affair, their kissing filled with wet passion and unrelenting need. Erwin let his kisses travel; gentle, full lips wandered down the column of Levi’s neck. He was so careful not to bite or leave marks. He didn’t want to come across like those other men had: he wanted Levi to be worshipped, not vandalized. Perhaps one day, he would view it all differently, but tonight, he knew what he wanted.

“Ah,” the smaller man moaned as Erwin pushed the hem of the babydoll upward, letting it gather at Levi’s collarbone. The blonde took his time, working his tongue down to one of the sugary, pert nipples that had become hardened under Erwin’s touch. He carefully sucked one into his mouth, laving at the soft, pink skin, relishing in the appreciative squirming he was receiving in return. 

“Does this feel good, baby boy?” It was Erwin’s turn to play, watching his lover through blonde eyelashes. 

“Ah, shit, so damn good,” Levi moaned, the only thing he could do as Erwin nipped lightly across his chest. Erwin sat back to appraise his boy, though not neglecting him in the process. No, Erwin almost felt sick at how much enjoyed watching Levi come unraveled as he pinched both swollen, perky buds, leaving the entirety of his small body rosy and expectant, needy for more, ravenous for physical touch. 

“I want you, daddy.” He was practically begging now, his own slender dick swelled and pressing in his tiny panties. Erwin was caught off guard as he watched one of Levi’s hands disappear under the pillow, producing an unused bottle of lube and a chain of golden condoms.

“Did you go shopping today, Levi?” Erwin asked, a teasing lilt in his voice. He had left his credit card behind with instructions for the boy to take a cab to buy groceries and any other household items he wanted, but he was not expecting any of this. 

“I made a detour,” Levi explained with a knowing laugh.

“I would presume they don’t sell that,” he gestured toward the lingerie that Levi was wearing, “at the produce market?” 

“Victoria’s not the only one with a secret.”

Erwin laughed, and he didn’t bother to feel self-conscious about whether or not crow’s feet appeared in the corners of his cerulean eyes as he did so. “What am I going to do with you?”

“I’ll show you.” And Levi stuck to his word, unscrewing the cap and lathering the clear gel between slender fingers. “Watch closely,” he stated with a wink, using his free hand to drag the silk panties off his milk-white thighs before dropping them in an undisclosed corner of the room.

 _Oh fuck he shaved._ That very realization took the wind from Erwin’s sails, causing him to sink into the mattress next to his young lover, laying on his side, propped up on an elbow so he could watch whatever show was next.

The first digit didn’t affect Levi much, his tiny index finger slowly slipping into the puckered ring of muscle. He only pumped a few times before adding a second. It was obvious that the addition of his middle finger reached something that the first hadn’t, given the way Levi’s breath quickened and his thighs trembled.

“May I?” Erwin asked, suddenly very fed up with just observing, every fiber of his being beckoning him to participate. 

“Your fingers are thicker,” Levi pointed out, half a reminder to proceed with caution, half a blunt, excited realization.

“I’ll be good to you, darling boy,” Erwin vowed, picking up the bottle to repeat the action Levi had used, ensuring that the lube was properly warmed in hopes it might make things more comfortable. “Sit back for me,” the blonde instructed, using his free hand to press gently on Levi’s chest. “Just take deep breaths and relax.”

Levi could only nod as he leaned back onto the pillows behind him, Erwin taking his place between the brunette’s legs. The view was gorgeous, one that Erwin would never shortly forget, gaze raking over the fair, flushed skin. His clean hand began to massage a succulent thigh, the other teasing the rim of Levi’s heat. Sensing the boy’s impatience, as hinted by his breathless whimpering, Erwin wasted no more time, allowing his index finger to slide into Levi.

It was so tight, so much tighter than Erwin could have ever expected. But _god_ , it felt amazing, so warm and soft. If this was how it felt only to his finger, Erwin couldn’t even begin to wrap his head around how those supple, waiting walls would feel clamped around his dick. He shuddered at the idea, resisting the urge to come then and there.

“Another,” the hoarse plea rose from Levi after Erwin explored for a few moments, the blond mapping every rounded edge, engraining it in his memory for use later. Because oh, he would _definitely_ use this information later.

“Are you sure?” Erwin wanted to confirm, hooking his long index finger inside.

“Fuck, _yes_ ,” he insisted, reaching down to cup Erwin’s face, his hands looking so miniature in context to the older man.

Kissing Levi’s palm, Erwin obliged, drawing the first finger out to meet a second, then plunging forward. Levi tossed his head back, connecting to the pillow as the duo of digits probed further inside of him. It was a slow few moments, Erwin being the gracious lover he was, allowing Levi to adjust and relax before moving once again. But when he resumed, he did so with renewed urgency, pumping and scissoring the entry open until Levi cried for a third. It didn’t take long from there for Levi to sob out, begging for something else, for something more, for _Erwin_.

Opening the condom with his teeth had been a breeze, but rolling it on made the attorney realize just how neglected his own dick had become, leaving him hypersensitive and all the more hungry for what was next. “Are you ready, darling?” he asked, leaning down to press encouraging, soothing kisses to the boy’s forehead and temple.

“Please,” he whined, sinking his nails into Erwin’s back, leaving angry, half-moon marks in his wake. “Please, daddy.”

Levi stiffened beneath him as Erwin gently began to rub his cockhead against the wet hole his fingers had just vacated. The teasing sensation all but electrocuted him, setting every nerve ending in his body on fire. And as he slowly pressed in, closing his eyes, the last thing he saw before he was completely buried inside the boy was Levi’s mouth falling into a silent ‘o’. 

Nothing prepared him for the searing tightness that engulfed him. His thoughts were torn between the fear that he was hurting Levi and the blinding, all-consuming lust that seeped into his stomach. But when a series of pleasure-charged moaned expletives reached his ears, Erwin took this as encouragement, pressing forward until he was buried in Levi to the hilt, his hips flush to the back of the brunette’s thighs.

“ _Fuck_.” It was Erwin’s turn to cry out, the curse word so very out of character from his usual proper, poised demeanor. But how could he hold that in when his world was spinning and Levi, pinned beneath him, was the very epicenter of it all? 

“Move!” Levi demanded with a sharp, playful slap to Erwin’s broad back. “Fucking move, big guy!”

“Now, now,” Erwin chided, Levi’s voice escorting him back to the present. He didn’t want to miss his chance to tease, to play Levi’s game. “That’s not how you should address me.” He leaned forward and spoke those words with a soft authority, nosing at the underside of Levi’s jaw as he did so.

This was the right response, as it forced Levi to quiver and draw a bated breath before releasing a broken request: “Please fuck me, daddy.”

This was all it took to snap the last pillar of resistance within Erwin. Normally, it would have startled him at how quickly his inhibitions crumbled, how fast Levi could pick him apart. But these were no normal circumstances, just as the brunette was no normal man.

Erwin drew his hips back, almost completely leaving Levi, before snapping them forward once again, wrapping his big hands around the boy’s thighs, fingers nearly wholly encircling them. He snapped, and snapped again, bottoming out into the boy, Levi’s name a heavy litany on his full lips. He couldn’t garner control of himself again, his pistoning finding a rhythm, accompanied with heavy, wet slaps of skin and broken, lewd cries. 

It didn’t take long at all for the fire inside his stomach to rage into an inferno, threatening to push him over the edge and into an orgasm unlike any had experienced before. 

“Touch me,” Levi pleaded through satisfied, hungry grunts, guiding Erwin’s hand to his small, but pretty pink cock. The duality of his movements overwhelmed them both; the tight heat of Levi’s perfect ass paired with the steady pumping of Erwin’s hand. It was just the right combination to send them overboard almost simultaneously, Levi first as white-hot covered his porcelain stomach, followed immediately as Erwin spilled into his condom. 

Erwin laid forward, pressing an impassioned kiss to his lover’s mouth, pushing his body down on Levi, though he was careful not to put all of his weight. He wanted it to be just enough for the smaller boy to not forget he was there, or think he was leaving, or that whatever had just happened was coming to an end. Because it wasn’t. Erwin wanted it to be everlasting, something infinite and eternal. Because Erwin wanted Levi as long as Levi would have him.

“Ah, Erwin,” Levi cried a little, nudging the taller man to sit up. Erwin obliged, careful as he removed his near flaccid cock from the smaller man, holding on to the base of the condom so it wouldn’t slide off. Once free, Erwin climbed off the bed and walked into the en suite bathroom, where he ditched the condom in the trash and fetched a clean towel from the cabinet. He wet it with warm water, ringing it out just a little, before returning to his lover.

“Are you alright?” he asked, running the towel across the boy’s stomach, collecting the evidence of their passion before it could dry. 

“Yeah,” Levi replied, placing a flat palm to his sweaty forehead as if he were a bit dizzy.

Erwin discarded the towel in the hamper, nearly missing, his desire to return to his little lover’s side stealing his focus. “Come here,” he instructed, pulling back a corner of the comforter, settling himself onto the mattress.

Always the eager listener, Levi flung his arms around Erwin’s neck, lodging into his firm, welcoming chest. “I can’t believe you made we wait a fucking week for that,” the feigned venom in his words harboring no actual merit or sting. 

“I’m so sorry, darling,” Erwin offered as a genuine apology, smoothing his hands down Levi’s back until they stopped only to give a flirtatious, teasing squeezing to the boy’s luscious, pert ass.

“No, you’re not,” Levi retorted, releasing a defiant huff of air that tickled his collarbone. “I can’t believe you fucking tricked me into thinking you weren’t a perv.”

For the countless time in the handful of days that Levi had come to stay in his house, Erwin felt the undeniable swell of laughter permeate in his chest. “I have a reputation to upkeep,” he petitioned, though his earnest words were offset by yet another pinch on the boy’s ass.

“Hey!” he called, pushing up and away from Erwin, “that’s gonna be really sore tomorrow!”

“You asked for it.”

Levi couldn’t keep the smile off his face, nor even attempt to deny Erwin’s accusation. “You’re right,” he admitted, leaning down to meet the larger man for a long, slow kiss. “I sure the fuck did”

  
  


\------------

** One Year Later **

Levi walked into their bedroom to find a handwritten note lying on top of a neatly tied package resting on the bed. He pulled his robe tighter to his body, eyes narrowed with suspicion. A gift? Erwin had woken up with a goofy, boyish grin on his face, so he couldn’t say that he was really surprised. But when Levi asked about it before getting into the shower, Erwin only denied the fact, bluntly stating the younger man simply had to be imagining things. With that comment, Erwin had given his boyfriend a quick kiss before departing for work, leaving Levi to prepare for his own day.

He rolled the envelope over in his hand, Erwin’s elegant, swirled script recognizable anywhere. Levi had teased him about it once, saying _‘damn I know you’re old, but you even write like a founding father, too? Fuck, you’re a nerd_.’

Levi chuckled at the memory as he read the exterior of the envelope: ‘ _Levi, open the package first._ ’

“That’s kinda ass-backward,” Levi grumped with a quick eye roll, but he followed instructions all the same. He slowly tore open the gray wrapping paper, revealing a normal-sized brown box underneath. The box was plain, giving zero hints as to where the gift might originate from or what exactly might be inside.

But as he opened it, tearing at the thick seam of packing tape, the contents made his heart flutter and his breath hitch. He couldn’t help it as he ran his tremoring fingers over the heavy wool material, dyed a midnight black: Levi’s favorite color.

Using both hands, he pulled the garment from the box, taking in the sight of the elegant peacoat as it unfurled. It was beautiful, clearly a designer brand, as it was adorned with shiny, bronze buttons embossed with a noteworthy logo. The large buttons trailed along the double-breasted opening. Even each pocket had a bronze embellishment, refined and elegant without being too much.

Tears threatened his eyes, burning the corners as his hands flew to open the envelope, where he was met with a hand-written letter containing more of the familiar script:

_Levi,_

_I wish you all the luck on your first day of classes. I know the apprehension you have carried in your heart these past few months since enrolling, but I believe in you. Mike, Nana, Farlan, and Izzy, they all believe in you, too._

_Remember the night we met and you said that all you wanted for yourself was a coat to keep out the cold? Well, you have that now, and so much more, my darling boy, all because you chased it. You let yourself find happiness, and I thank the God you don’t believe in daily for bringing you to me, my sweet salvation._

_Don’t overthink it, just hold your head high and study hard. You will reap all that you sow, and I know that you will be the best damn graphic designer in the city here in just a few short years. I can’t wait to watch you as you make it happen._

_I am always on your side._

_All my love,_

_Erwin Smith_

Levi walked to class that day, wrapped in his new gift as well as the unshakable, nagging feeling that he could never love anyone more than he loved Erwin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow look, I actually wrote something to completion! I know it's just a short story, but it means a lot to me. I have spent a lot of time on this, regardless of its length, and while I'm not totally happy with it (I never will be), I hope you enjoyed reading it all the same.
> 
> Some parts were harder to navigate, the smut especially. Like, as I was writing it, I was thinking, "is this too much? Is this too long? Is this too short? Is it weird?" I have written smut a few times in one of my other fics, but it was pretty straight-forward, loving/fluffy sex. I love Levi/Erwin with a daddy kink so I decided to write it, just doing the best I can.
> 
> Anyway, please leave me a comment with your thoughts. I received so many nice notes on the first installment and I am blown away. Did you have a favorite line? Did this story go how you'd thought? Sorry if you're disappointed, I have no idea how not to write a happy ending. 
> 
> Btw, if you wanna see my cat "helping" me write yesterday, please head on over to my [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/photogiraffe77). Feel free to yell at me while you're there.
> 
> Thank you again for reading! You guys are too, too kind.


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